1. Field of the Invention
The invention is a process for recovering a metal from an aqueous solution containing a mixture of metal chlorides.
2. Statement of related art
Chloride hydrometallurgy for metal extraction from sulfide ore has been known for many years as a low cost, pollution free alternative to smelting.
In the chloride metal extraction process, the metal values are released from the ore and the sulfur values remain as elemental sulfur and pyrites. The process has a minimum impact on the environment since the sulfur values in the ore remain as solid elemental sulfur and pyrites. The environmental pollution potential of sulfur dioxide production and acid rain is substantially reduced.
Chloride hydrometallurgy has not become commercially popular due to the difficulty in winning the metal from the chloride solution when the sulfide ores contain significant amounts of chloride soluble metals other than the metal to be recovered. In addition, winning of the metal from the chloride solution presents problems. In particular, copper is recovered in a granular form rather than in sheet form, as in electrolysis of a copper sulfate solution.